“SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents seized a large narcotics load Thursday. At approximately 5:45 p.m., agents from the San Clemente Station stopped a sedan traveling northbound on Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton. After a brief interview with the man driving the vehicle, the agents requested that a K-9 unit respond to the vehicle stop.
After a positive alert from the agency K-9, agents searched the trunk and discovered two white trash bags filled with cellophane-wrapped packages consistent with drug smuggling. Agents transported the vehicle, the suspected narcotics, the driver and adult male passenger to the nearby Border Patrol station. A total of 19 cellophane-wrapped packages were removed from the car and tested. The packages tested positive for the characteristics of cocaine. The total weight of the cocaine was 47.51 pounds, with an estimated street value of nearly $810,000.
The Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the cocaine, while the driver and passenger now face narcotics trafficking charges. The vehicle was seized by the Border Patrol…